Bill Text: NY S00921 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Amended
Bill Title: Provides that the weekly benefit which the disabled employee is entitled to receive for disability commencing: on or after January first, two thousand twenty-six shall be fifty percent of the employee's average weekly wage but shall not exceed fifty percent of the state average weekly wage; on or after January first, two thousand twenty-seven shall be fifty-five percent of the employee's average weekly wage but shall not exceed fifty-five percent of the state average weekly wage; on or after January first, two thousand twenty-eight shall be sixty percent of the employee's weekly average wage but shall not exceed sixty percent of the state average weekly wage; and on or after January first of each succeeding year, shall be sixty-seven percent of the employee's average weekly wage but shall not exceed sixty-seven percent of the state average weekly wage.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - REFERRED TO LABOR [S00921 Detail]
Download: New_York-2023-S00921-Amended.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 921--A 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN SENATE January 9, 2023 ___________ Introduced by Sens. COONEY, FERNANDEZ, GOUNARDES -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Labor -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee AN ACT to amend the workers' compensation law, in relation to the weekly benefit of a disabled employee The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as 2 the "equity in leave act". 3 § 2. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 2 of section 204 of the workers' 4 compensation law, as amended by section 5 of part SS of chapter 54 of 5 the laws of 2016, is amended to read as follows: 6 (b) The weekly benefit which the disabled employee is entitled to 7 receive for disability commencing: (i) on or after January first, two 8 thousand twenty-six shall be fifty percent of the employee's average 9 weekly wage but shall not exceed fifty percent of the state average 10 weekly wage; (ii) on or after January first, two thousand twenty-seven 11 shall be fifty-five percent of the employee's average weekly wage but 12 shall not exceed fifty-five percent of the state average weekly wage; 13 (iii) on or after January first, two thousand twenty-eight shall be 14 sixty percent of the employee's weekly average wage but shall not exceed 15 sixty percent of the state average weekly wage; and (iv) on or after 16 January first of each succeeding year, shall be sixty-seven percent of 17 the employee's average weekly wage but shall not exceed sixty-seven 18 percent of the state average weekly wage. The weekly benefit which the 19 disabled employee is entitled to receive for disability commencing on or 20 after May first, nineteen hundred eighty-nine and prior to January 21 first, two thousand twenty-six shall be one-half of the employee's week- 22 ly wage, but in no case shall such benefit exceed one hundred seventy 23 dollars; except that if the employee's average weekly wage is less than EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD02619-02-3S. 921--A 2 1 twenty dollars, the benefit shall be such average weekly wage. The week- 2 ly benefit which the disabled employee is entitled to receive for disa- 3 bility commencing on or after July first, nineteen hundred eighty-four 4 shall be one-half of the employee's weekly wage, but in no case shall 5 such benefit exceed one hundred forty-five dollars; except that if the 6 employee's average weekly wage is less than twenty dollars, the benefit 7 shall be such average weekly wage. The weekly benefit which the disabled 8 employee is entitled to receive for disability commencing on or after 9 July first, nineteen hundred eighty-three and prior to July first, nine- 10 teen hundred eighty-four shall be one-half of the employee's average 11 weekly wage, but in no case shall such benefit exceed one hundred thir- 12 ty-five dollars nor be less than twenty dollars; except that if the 13 employee's average weekly wage is less than twenty dollars the benefit 14 shall be such average weekly wage. The weekly benefit which the disabled 15 employee is entitled to receive for disability commencing on or after 16 July first, nineteen hundred seventy-four, and prior to July first, 17 nineteen hundred eighty-three, shall be one-half of the employee's aver- 18 age weekly wage, but in no case shall such benefit exceed ninety-five 19 dollars nor be less than twenty dollars; except that if the employee's 20 average weekly wage is less than twenty dollars, the benefit shall be 21 such average weekly wage. The weekly benefit which the disabled employee 22 is entitled to receive for disability commencing on or after July first, 23 nineteen hundred seventy and prior to July first, nineteen hundred 24 seventy-four shall be one-half of the employee's average weekly wage, 25 but in no case shall such benefit exceed seventy-five dollars nor be 26 less than twenty dollars; except that if the employee's average weekly 27 wage is less than twenty dollars the benefit shall be such average week- 28 ly wage. For any period of disability less than a full week, the bene- 29 fits payable shall be calculated by dividing the weekly benefit by the 30 number of the employee's normal work days per week and multiplying the 31 quotient by the number of normal work days in such period of disability. 32 The weekly benefit for a disabled employee who is concurrently eligible 33 for benefits in the employment of more than one covered employer shall, 34 within the maximum and minimum herein provided, be one-half of the total 35 of the employee's average weekly wages received from all such covered 36 employers, and shall be allocated in the proportion of their respective 37 average weekly wage payments. 38 § 3. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 3 of section 209 of the workers' 39 compensation law, as amended by section 10 of part SS of chapter 54 of 40 the laws of 2016, is amended to read as follows: 41 (a) Disability benefits. The contribution of each such employee to the 42 cost of disability benefits provided by this article shall be one-half 43 of one per centum of the employee's wages paid to him or her on and 44 after July first, nineteen hundred fifty and prior to January first, two 45 thousand twenty-six, but not in excess of sixty cents per week. The 46 contribution of each such employee to the cost of employee disability 47 benefits provided by this article shall be one-half of one per centum of 48 the employee's wages paid to him or her on and after January first, two 49 thousand twenty-six, but not in excess of two dollars and twenty cents 50 per week. 51 § 4. Section 203-a of the workers' compensation law, as added by 52 section 4 of part SS of chapter 54 of the laws of 2016, is amended to 53 read as follows: 54 § 203-a. [Retaliatory] Interference and retaliatory action prohibited 55 for disability and family leave. 1. The provisions of section oneS. 921--A 3 1 hundred twenty of this chapter and section two hundred forty-one of this 2 article shall be applicable to disability and family leave. 3 2. It shall be unlawful for any employer to interfere with, restrain, 4 or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right provided 5 under this article, including: (a) failing to comply with the require- 6 ments of section two hundred twenty-nine of this article, such as by 7 failing to provide an employee with the notice of rights required by 8 such section; (b) failing to provide an employee with complete and accu- 9 rate information related to the submission of a claim for disability or 10 family leave benefits, such as by failing to inform the employee that it 11 is the employee's responsibility to submit the completed application 12 materials to the employer's insurance carrier or by failing or refusing 13 to provide the employee with the name of the employer's insurance carri- 14 er and/or the employer's policy number with said insurance carrier; (c) 15 failing to accurately complete and return to the employee the disability 16 or family leave application paperwork within the time period specified 17 by the chair; (d) providing the employer's insurance carrier with inac- 18 curate information about an employee's employment as it relates to the 19 employee's eligibility for disability or family leave benefits; (e) 20 refusing to allow an employee who has requested disability or family 21 leave under this article to begin leave until the employer's insurance 22 carrier has approved the employee's claim for disability or family leave 23 benefits; (f) failing or refusing to carry disability or family leave 24 insurance as required by section two hundred eleven of this article; (g) 25 threatening termination, demotion, discipline, suspension, or reduction 26 of hours or wages, reporting or threatening to report an employee's 27 suspected citizenship or immigration status or the suspected citizenship 28 or immigration status of a family member of the employee to a federal, 29 state, or local agency, or threatening any other action against an 30 employee seeking to take disability or family leave that might reason- 31 ably deter an employee from exercising a right provided under this arti- 32 cle; or (h) threatening or taking any other action that may have the 33 effect of preventing or discouraging an employee from exercising a right 34 provided under this article. 35 3. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to diminish the rights, 36 privileges, or remedies of any employee under any collective bargaining 37 agreement or employment contract. 38 § 5. Section 203-b of the workers' compensation law, as added by 39 section 4 of part SS of chapter 54 of the laws of 2016, is amended to 40 read as follows: 41 § 203-b. Reinstatement following disability or family leave. Any 42 eligible employee of a covered employer who takes leave, including leave 43 for disability, under this article shall be entitled, on return from 44 such leave, to be restored by the employer to the position of employment 45 held by the employee when the leave commenced, or to be restored to a 46 comparable position with comparable employment benefits, pay and other 47 terms and conditions of employment. The taking of family leave or leave 48 due to a disability shall not result in the loss of any employment bene- 49 fit accrued prior to the date on which the leave commenced. Nothing in 50 this section shall be construed to entitle any restored employee to the 51 accrual of any seniority or employment benefits during any period of 52 leave, or any right, benefit or position to which the employee would 53 have been entitled had the employee not taken the leave. 54 § 6. Section 203-c of the workers' compensation law, as added by 55 section 4 of part SS of chapter 54 of the laws of 2016, is amended to 56 read as follows:S. 921--A 4 1 § 203-c. Health insurance during disability or family leave. In 2 accordance with the Family and Medical Leave Act (29 U.S.C. §§ 3 2601-2654), during any period of disability or family leave the employer 4 shall maintain any existing health benefits of the employee in force for 5 the duration of such leave as if the employee had continued to work from 6 the date he or she commenced disability or family leave until the date 7 he or she returns to employment. 8 § 7. This act shall take effect immediately.
